Exporting Vehicles
by Michael Canty · in Artist Corner · 05/31/2007 (5:41 am) · 17 replies
Hello
I am creating my first vehicle for our game and am having trouble getting the wheels to mount. I created the vehicle, which is a 10 wheel land rover. I set the object up in layout with the required nulls (eye, cam, hub0 - hub9, wheel01 - wheel10, and other mounts mount0-mount7. We then created a wheel for the vehicle and saved it as wheel.dts. I used the code from the starter.racing demo as my script and when we place it into the game the vehicle looks great but no wheels. We the added a file to your source directory with AlwaysExport:
eye
cam
hub*
This did not work either. We then put our wheel into the starter.racing - buggy directory and our wheel mounted onto the buggy. Any help would be appreciated at this point since we have no idea what we are doing wrong.
I am creating my first vehicle for our game and am having trouble getting the wheels to mount. I created the vehicle, which is a 10 wheel land rover. I set the object up in layout with the required nulls (eye, cam, hub0 - hub9, wheel01 - wheel10, and other mounts mount0-mount7. We then created a wheel for the vehicle and saved it as wheel.dts. I used the code from the starter.racing demo as my script and when we place it into the game the vehicle looks great but no wheels. We the added a file to your source directory with AlwaysExport:
eye
cam
hub*
This did not work either. We then put our wheel into the starter.racing - buggy directory and our wheel mounted onto the buggy. Any help would be appreciated at this point since we have no idea what we are doing wrong.
#2
05/31/2007 (1:19 pm)
Yes, we have those two datablocks. Does the object need to have bones or not? I will remove two of the wheels from the object, Althought it certainly looked cool in design.
#3
1. should i include the wheel mounts in the .cfg file?
2. Should i have the objects layers and mounts in a specific hireachy? And if so where can i find that in the forums?
3. If there a guide to creating a vehicle in Lightwave, that could help me?
05/31/2007 (2:10 pm)
Even though I now have 8 wheels it will still not work. I think that I may be doing something wrong with the objects null mount points.1. should i include the wheel mounts in the .cfg file?
2. Should i have the objects layers and mounts in a specific hireachy? And if so where can i find that in the forums?
3. If there a guide to creating a vehicle in Lightwave, that could help me?
#4
hello everybody... i'm new, i've got TGEA, and i'd like to make some vehicles with Lightwave.
i've read up on the 3DSmax method for getting vehicles into torque, but i have some noob
questions...
are the "dummy helpers" referred to... Lightwave "Nulls" ? Do i just add them in
the right place, with the right name... or do they have to be parented to other objects
prior to export? do i follow the tree structure of the 3DSmax method.. and link all
the nodes/nulls to one called "base" ?
does the DTS exporter prefer single layer models, or can we use muliple layers ?
do i have to export each individual layer as a seperate .dts file, or treat the whole
model (with say 20 layers) as a single object. I'm a bit fuzzy on how Torque talks
to submeshes... the propellor of a plane, for instance...
If some of you "old hands" could give a few pointers, it would be much appreciated.
thankyou.
08/02/2007 (2:05 pm)
*bump*hello everybody... i'm new, i've got TGEA, and i'd like to make some vehicles with Lightwave.
i've read up on the 3DSmax method for getting vehicles into torque, but i have some noob
questions...
are the "dummy helpers" referred to... Lightwave "Nulls" ? Do i just add them in
the right place, with the right name... or do they have to be parented to other objects
prior to export? do i follow the tree structure of the 3DSmax method.. and link all
the nodes/nulls to one called "base" ?
does the DTS exporter prefer single layer models, or can we use muliple layers ?
do i have to export each individual layer as a seperate .dts file, or treat the whole
model (with say 20 layers) as a single object. I'm a bit fuzzy on how Torque talks
to submeshes... the propellor of a plane, for instance...
If some of you "old hands" could give a few pointers, it would be much appreciated.
thankyou.
#5
i've been experimenting with the exporter. it seems a bit tempermental with planar mapping,
but i managed to get this model showing up inside ShowToolPro. I've added nulls, and they
seem to have the right names, and be in the right places... but.... the .dts crashes Torque.
(when i try to add it as a static mesh in the mission editor).
10401 polys
am i doing something stupid? neglecting to do something?
is the model too big? or too round ?
any advice appreciated.
thankyou.
08/05/2007 (9:05 pm)
Helloooo... any Lightwave people using TGEA?i've been experimenting with the exporter. it seems a bit tempermental with planar mapping,
but i managed to get this model showing up inside ShowToolPro. I've added nulls, and they
seem to have the right names, and be in the right places... but.... the .dts crashes Torque.
(when i try to add it as a static mesh in the mission editor).
10401 polysam i doing something stupid? neglecting to do something?
is the model too big? or too round ?
any advice appreciated.
thankyou.
#6
LightWave DTS Exporter Example Objects & Scenes
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and download the racing car scene, it may offer some clues on how to configure a vehicle for Torque in Lightwave.
I checked the TDN and all I found were pages and pages full of nothing, they were literally empty.
08/05/2007 (9:19 pm)
I don't know anything about Lightwave however have managed to find some very old reference material.LightWave DTS Exporter Example Objects & Scenes
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and download the racing car scene, it may offer some clues on how to configure a vehicle for Torque in Lightwave.
I checked the TDN and all I found were pages and pages full of nothing, they were literally empty.
#7
years, but at least it's somewhere to start. appreciated. I'll post on GnomeTech
forum too.
regards.
08/06/2007 (5:45 am)
Thanks for that, Tim. sad to see that the exporter hasn't been upgraded in three years, but at least it's somewhere to start. appreciated. I'll post on GnomeTech
forum too.
Quote:I checked the TDN and all I found were pages and pages full of nothinglol.... that's what i found there too.
regards.
#8
www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=40222
08/06/2007 (6:37 am)
Posted: Feb 17, 2006 ... looks like it was updated in 2006? www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=40222
#9
According to the GnomeTech car model example, i had the nodes setup OK.
they don't have to be parented to anything, just sat there in the right place.
i tried exporting the plane with no nodes, but it still crashes TGEA.
it's a fairly "simple" one layer mesh... 10401 polys, 399kb.
i suppose the next step is to make a plane that's more boxlike, gradually stepping
up the details, so that i can see what TGEA will handle. it's a bit depressing though.
cheers for the tips, people..
08/06/2007 (7:09 am)
Sorry, my mistake...i was confused by the "04" (but that is the version i'm using).According to the GnomeTech car model example, i had the nodes setup OK.
they don't have to be parented to anything, just sat there in the right place.
i tried exporting the plane with no nodes, but it still crashes TGEA.
it's a fairly "simple" one layer mesh... 10401 polys, 399kb.
i suppose the next step is to make a plane that's more boxlike, gradually stepping
up the details, so that i can see what TGEA will handle. it's a bit depressing though.
cheers for the tips, people..
#10
(the 20 Lightwave layers were glued together into a single .dts)
and it's successfully imported into TGEA as a static mesh.
obviously, more experimentation is needed, but i'm impressed with
the way TGEA can handle the curved fuselage and the intracacies
of the rigging. the plugin seems to work well, once i had the wit to
understand it.
cheers..
08/07/2007 (7:11 pm)
I got it working by keeping it as a multi-level object during export.(the 20 Lightwave layers were glued together into a single .dts)
and it's successfully imported into TGEA as a static mesh.
obviously, more experimentation is needed, but i'm impressed with
the way TGEA can handle the curved fuselage and the intracacies
of the rigging. the plugin seems to work well, once i had the wit to
understand it.
cheers..
#11
Glad you got it working Ken. Are 10K polys necessary to describe the plane or are you thinking of optimising the model later?
@Michael re: vehicle wheels
I'll try adding one of my vehicles to the racer example next week and let you know how it goes.
08/08/2007 (4:52 am)
@Ken re: plane model exportGlad you got it working Ken. Are 10K polys necessary to describe the plane or are you thinking of optimising the model later?
@Michael re: vehicle wheels
I'll try adding one of my vehicles to the racer example next week and let you know how it goes.
#12
10K is about average for my models... they have realistic cockpits, round wheels, and a human looking pilot.
is that too big for TGEA to handle comfortably? in the engine i migrated from, the parts that weren't visible could be turned off. but i guess i can't do that here. the pilot on his own, is around 2K polys.. so yes, there is room to optimise, but i wanted to see what Torque was capable of. the plane also has no LOD or collision model in it yet...i guess that will bump up the final poly count too. thanks for the reminder..
can i ask another question ? now that everything is glued together.... somewhere in the .dts,
there is a 'spinner' layer which represents the spinning propellor disc. I believe it's now called
"spinner.dts". Is it possible to talk to it via script or code, and get it to spin? Or should i keep
all moving parts seperate, and attach/mount them? any advice appreciated.
good luck with getting your vehicles integrated, Proto..
please let us know how you get on.
cheers..
08/08/2007 (7:20 am)
Hi Proto..10K is about average for my models... they have realistic cockpits, round wheels, and a human looking pilot.
is that too big for TGEA to handle comfortably? in the engine i migrated from, the parts that weren't visible could be turned off. but i guess i can't do that here. the pilot on his own, is around 2K polys.. so yes, there is room to optimise, but i wanted to see what Torque was capable of. the plane also has no LOD or collision model in it yet...i guess that will bump up the final poly count too. thanks for the reminder..
can i ask another question ? now that everything is glued together.... somewhere in the .dts,
there is a 'spinner' layer which represents the spinning propellor disc. I believe it's now called
"spinner.dts". Is it possible to talk to it via script or code, and get it to spin? Or should i keep
all moving parts seperate, and attach/mount them? any advice appreciated.
good luck with getting your vehicles integrated, Proto..
please let us know how you get on.
cheers..
#13
datablock method for a windmill (problem and solution)
Animate geometry manually (lots of techniques discussed)
Just a thought: I've not tried animating geometry at propeller speed but it occurs to me that a low poly disc with a series of animated textures may give a more "grunty" effect and give you more graphical control, i.e. rendered difference frequency, high motion blur and aliasing would probably look a lot cooler than spinning geometry. Newtek forums have a few posts on achieving this with Photoshop's radial blur.
08/08/2007 (4:55 pm)
Two posts that might be of use for scripting geometry:datablock method for a windmill (problem and solution)
Animate geometry manually (lots of techniques discussed)
Just a thought: I've not tried animating geometry at propeller speed but it occurs to me that a low poly disc with a series of animated textures may give a more "grunty" effect and give you more graphical control, i.e. rendered difference frequency, high motion blur and aliasing would probably look a lot cooler than spinning geometry. Newtek forums have a few posts on achieving this with Photoshop's radial blur.
#14
I did this for the helicopter model that I include with my helicopter resource.
See a video of it here: Visit FileFront to download video.
08/08/2007 (5:05 pm)
Use an animated IFL for the propeller.I did this for the helicopter model that I include with my helicopter resource.
See a video of it here: Visit FileFront to download video.
#15
i have it working now, and i didn't have to UV map it... planar mapping was fine.
cheers..
08/08/2007 (9:48 pm)
Thanks for the advice. the TDN docs clearly explained IFL's for Lightwave users.i have it working now, and i didn't have to UV map it... planar mapping was fine.
cheers..
#16
04/17/2008 (5:42 am)
Hello everyone. I'm back. I have been busy coding on the project and left the vehicle alone till now. We are now trying to get the vehicle working and have failed. We have eight wheels that will not attach. We can mount wheels in Show Tool Pro but when in the game it does not work. We are using lighwave to build the vehicle. If we use the demo vehicle in the game it works. Can someone help please.
#17
Thanks to everyone for you help.
04/30/2008 (8:40 am)
I figured out my problem. I must have read a previous post that I obviously misunderstood. I had nodes on my object for wheel1, wheel2 ets. I was reading some docs andfound that there use to be a need for animations for wheels spinning that were wheel1, wheel2, etc. After removing thes nodes my vehivle wheel worked fine. I have nice working landrover vehicle with 8 wheels now. I would like to post some images of the vehicle so that all can see. I think it's a great object. In particular We have created the vehicle so that it has attachment nodes for controlable objects. It has a working crane, opening toolboxes and other features.Thanks to everyone for you help.
Torque 3D Owner mb